i have a factory lp dana 30 front axle in my TJ. i found dana 44 housings empty for 50$. can i build a dana 44 front out of a lp 30, axle tubes, brakes, knuckles etc and get d44 axles? wasnt sure if the parts interchange, rather than having one built by someone and paying lots of loot

yes, you can build a D44 out of a bare housing with D30 parts. I've even seen 9" high pinion fronts with D30 parts. when you buy a bare housing, you MUST get the matched bearing caps on the D44, otherwise its a paperweight. i've thought of doing a HP D44 with junkyard D30 parts, so I could use Rubicon D44 shafts, still retain my Vanco brakes, and get 5.13 or 5.38 gears.

basically you cut the D30 knuckles off

and its a good time to upgrade to 3/8" wall DOM tubing instead of the factory 1/4" wall. this requires machining the ends down to 1/4" wall.

basically press tube into the D44 housing, press the knuckles on and weld them where you want. you set caster vs pinion angle here. you need to have alignment equipment and/or the knowledge on how to assemble the housing so the camber & caster come out properly. you set the length such that the aftermarket or standard shafts work. when welding to the cast iron pumpkin, you need to use high nickle rod. obviously you can really screw stuff up here - not for the backyard shade tree mechanic.

lastly, you weld the coil & control arm brackets on in a position of appropriate caster, pinion angle and get everything lined up at full bump...shock length, bumpstops, etc.

Why use the D30 tubes. If you are going to press in the tubes, just get new .5" wall tubing and press it in, cut to length for factory TJ D44 dimensions, and weld on new inner "C." Contact Kent at Currie or Dan at Dynatrac. They may be able to point you to where to get the inner end forging, if not sell them to you.

The outer knuckles out will swap over. Make sure you get the caster right when you do it. Currie and others have front TJ bracket kits (CE-7110). Might as well go all new.

cool thanks for the info. il have to email the seller on cl and see if he has the d44 bearing caps, im having the feeling he might not but il ask anyways. 50$ for a front and rear d44 housing seems fair, even if i sell the rear housing. says came from international scout